HARES AND RABBITS 265 



The VARYING-HARE GROUP is the key to the entire fam- 

 ily; or, in other words, it stands on middle ground between 

 the rabbits, the polar hare, and the jack hare, and is re- 

 lated to all three. Naturally this group should be studied 

 first: Its type species is the NORTHERN VARYING HARE, 1 of 

 northern New York, New England, Canada, and the North- 

 west Territories. Its name is due to the fact that its color 

 varies according to the season, being pale cinnamon-brown 

 in summer, and white in winter, with only a narrow back line 

 of brown. 



It is nearly twice as large as the cotton-tail rabbit, but 

 its ears and legs are about halfway in proportionate length 

 between those of the common rabbit and the jack hare of 

 the Southwest. Large male specimens measure 18 inches in 

 length of head and body, tail, 2 inches, and weigh 6 pounds. 



Like the true fur-bearing animals, Varying Hares have 

 two kinds of fur, a dense, fine and soft under-fur through 

 which grows a storm-coat of thin, coarse, straight hair. It 

 is the latter which gives an animal its color. In the sum- 

 mer these long hairs are black, but as winter approaches they 

 turn white. 



The habits of the Varying Hares and Rabbits are so 

 nearly the same that it is unnecessary to describe them sep- 

 arately. They all require brushy ground, broken rocks, 

 rugged ravines, or tree holes in which to hide from the foxes, 

 dogs, men, mink, martens, lynxes, skunks, and birds of prey 

 which constantly hunt them as food. But for their keen- 

 ness of sight, hearing, and scent, their swiftness in running 



1 Le'pus a-mer-i-can'us. 



